Archive for February 2013 (19 posts)

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The following is a guest post by my colleague, Theresa Papademetriou, who is the Law Library of Congress Senior Foreign Law Specialist for the European Union, Greece, and Cyprus. Theresa’s blog post highlights Greece’s efforts to address the country’s economic challenges by, among other actions, tackling a common problem of “unreporting” or under-reporting of taxable revenues by providers of goods and services.

Last month, during my recent stay in Athens, I was taken aback to see a prominently-displayed sign, written in English and Greek. It sat on the receptionist’s desk in an hotel in downtown Athens, and it read: “It is your right to walk out without paying if no receipt is given to you.”

A view of Athens, Greece; Photo taken by Theresa Papademetriou, January 2013

As it turns out, this signage was a manifestation of compliance with new legislation. The new regulation, which entered into effect on January 12, 2013, was introduced by the Ministry of Development, Competitiveness and Infrastructure and serves a twofold purpose: (a) to ensure that restaurant, shop and other business owners, as well as those who provide services, such as doctors, electricians, plumbers, hair dressers and others provide receipts; and (b) to make customers aware of their legal right to request a receipt for goods purchased or services rendered and to walk out without paying, if no receipt is given. Businesses are required to display this information on their premises.

The new measure appears to be designed to combat the pervasive phenomenon of tax evasion and rampant corruption, which it is said have plagued Greece for a long time. In November 2012, Nektaria Stamouli’s article “Greece Tries Again to Cut Tax Evasion” published in the Wall Street Journal stated that tax evasion costs Greece approximately 28 billion Euros (US $ 36 billion). A series of administrations have introduced a variety of measures with the aim of combating this practice, but to no avail. I should clarify that although tax evasion is considered common in Greece, a large number of law-abiding citizens dutifully comply with their tax obligations.

Deputy Development Minister, Athanasios Skordas, has characterized the new regulation as an essential measure for the protection of consumers and as a “bold step against tax evasion.” Ordinary citizens, who have already suffered the effects of severe austerity measures, however, reacted to the new measure with shock and indignation. Many Greeks accuse their government of targeting the middle and lower class; they believe this population has already been unfairly treated and disproportionately affected by the ongoing economic crisis.

A recent report by the Hellenic Statistical Service (HSS) states that Greeks have become poorer in the third quarter of 2012: their available income dropped 10.6% to 33.2 billion Euros, compared to statistics collected for the same period in 2011. The report attributed this decrease to an 11.3% decline in workers’ earnings; a 10.2% cut in social benefits to households; and a 17.7% increase in income and property taxes.

Greek citizens object to the government’s focus on the low-to-middle class income earners in light of its failure to prosecute serious tax evaders–in particular, the infamous “Lagarde list.” This list is a document provided by Christine Lagarde, the Head of the International Monetary Fund, to the then Greek Minister of Finance, George Papakostantinou. It included the names of 2000 individuals who moved their accounts to safer banks in Switzerland, ostensibly to avoid taxes. A parliamentary investigation is currently underway regarding Mr. Papakostantinou’s alleged failure to take further action in connection with the “Lagarde list.” In addition, there is further investigation concerning the removal of his relatives’ names from the list.

Implementation of the new regulation can be problematic. Greeks are not accustomed to asking for receipts but may be enticed to do so in the future. Businesses may continue not giving receipts unless it is specifically requested. This may give way to altercations between business owners and customers, particularly if the former refuse to issue receipts. As reported in Nektaria Stamouli’s November 2012 Wall Street Journal article “Greece Tries Again to Cut Tax Evasion”, this issue has already been raised by Vasilis Korkidis, the President of the National Confederation of Greek Commerce. Mr. Korkidis argued that it is wrong for a ministry to urge customers to provoke conflict between a customer and a shop owner, especially in such a tense period, when such a conflict may even end in the use of force.

The following is a guest post by Dante Figueroa, Senior Legal Information Analyst at the Law Library of Congress. Dante has previously written blog posts on canon law and the papacy: Canon Law Update; Citizenship in the Vatican City State; Medieval Canon Law; and The Papal Inquisition in Modena. The posting Canonical Rules on the […]

As a graduate of Oberlin College, I have always been proud that when Oberlin was established in 1833, it was the first co-educational college in the country, admitting both men and women. However, it did not initially admit men and women on the same terms: women were not admitted to the baccalaureate program until 1837. […]

This post was coauthored by Barbara Bavis. One of the defining features of the common law system is the emphasis placed on the precedential value of case law. Until recently, case law has not been widely available on the Internet, leaving researchers with no choice but to seek out print reporters and commercial electronic databases […]

The following is a guest post by Dante Figueroa, Senior Legal Information Analyst at the Law Library of Congress. Dante has previously written blog posts on canon law and the papacy: Canon Law Update; Citizenship in the Vatican City State; Medieval Canon Law; and The Papal Inquisition in Modena. In my last post, I discussed the […]

Today’s pic of the week highlights an item from our collection that finds itself in the spotlight very often, whether as part of a display in one of the Library of Congress’s many fascinating public exhibitions, or as a quasi-sacred book in the swearing-in ceremony of public officials. It is also one of my favorite […]

In 1796, towards the end of his second term, President Washington wrote a letter to the “People of the United States” in which he announced that he would not be seeking a third term. This letter to the nation was originally published in the American Daily Advertiser and then in other papers throughout the country but […]

The following is a guest post by Dante Figueroa, Senior Legal Information Analyst at the Law Library of Congress. Dante has previously written blog posts on canon law and the papacy: Canon Law Update; Citizenship in the Vatican City State; Medieval Canon Law; and The Papal Inquisition in Modena. In a Concistoro ordinario pubblico (from […]

The following is an interview with Faith Jo, who is currently working as an intern in the Law Library’s Global Legal Research Center. The Law Library is proud to host a number of interns each year from all over the world. We hope to post many more interviews with interns throughout the year! Describe your […]

“There may be room there, though not here for such an holy experiment.” William Penn (1644-1718) wrote these words to a friend in America before he set sail across the Atlantic to found a colony in the New World. The holy experiment he spoke about was a plan to establish a new polity founded on […]

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